Eddie Davenport, the entrepreneur behind the notorious Gatecrasher Balls of the Eighties, has been accused of tricking Sierra Leone out of its £5 million London high commission.

The west African state is suing Davenport, now a property developer, claiming he fraudulently obtained the six-storey mansion for a mere £50,000 while the country was gripped by civil war. It has launched a civil action at the High Court in London but is also accusing Davenport of failing to comply fully with an earlier court order to disclose details about his personal wealth. Davenport will deny that claim in court this week, but if he is found to have broken the order he could face a fine or prison for contempt of court.

Davenport also insists he bought the high commission building legitimately and is fighting Sierra Leone's lawsuit. He declined to comment last week but his solicitor accused Sierra Leone of 'oppressive tactics'.

The legal action is the latest twist in the 34-year-old's colourful career. He made his first fortune from the Gatecrasher disco nights, attended by tuxedo-clad teenagers whose debauched antics were gleefully photographed by the tabloids. Davenport, who later bought a baronial title, now lives in style in the imposing West End townhouse he acquired from Sierra Leone in 1999.

Davenport allegedly paid £50,000 for the high commission and another £75,000 for two connected buildings. Sierra Leone's government claims it was told Davenport was merely refurbishing the buildings and only discovered the true nature of the transaction after the sale was completed. It says it was 'deliberately misled' and accuses Davenport of fraud. And after being forced to move its diplomats to cramped offices in an Oxford Circus shopping centre, it is demanding its old high commission back.

The government is also suing Cyril Foray, high commissioner at the time of the sale, who, it alleges, connived with Davenport. Foray, who denies wrongdoing, has since been recalled to Freetown.